Triangle
by Scribbler
Summary: Crisis Core. Zack and Cloud train with swords and heavy testosterone. Aerith waits in her church, nursing bad feelings and strange dreams. Bad things loom on the horizon, but none of them truly understand how much their lives are about to change.
1. First Side

Disclaimer – Not mine

**Disclaimer –** Not mine. Damn it.

**A/N – **This will have three chapters is set during Crisis Core. As such, it has multiple spoilers. You have been warned. Feedback is appreciated and wibbled over.

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_**Triangle**_

© Scribbler, March/April 2008

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_Let mathematicians and geometricians_

_Talk of circles' and triangles' charms;_

_The figure I prize is a girl with bright eyes,_

_And the circle that's formed by her arms._

-- Anonymous.

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**1. First Side**

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Zack swept the sword down at an angle that would've decapitated Cloud, had he still been there. His speed was much improved, Zack reflected, bringing the blade up and bunching his muscles under him in a leap designed to bring him in close.

Swordplay was, by definition, more effective at close range. Long-range was for snipers and assassins, not SOLDIERS. Throw a sword at an opponent like an arrow and it kind of defeated the point, especially if you missed, though he'd seen desperate men do it before. Zack hoped – no, he _intended_ – never to give up his sword unless there really was no other option, and even then he anticipated going to fetch the thing back afterwards. Neither rain, nor wind, nor stinky monster guts would keep him and Angeal's last gift apart for long.

He thought briefly about his mentor as Cloud dodged his attack. Not so long ago it'd been Zack doing the dodging and getting his ass handed to him. Now he was the more experienced and used all the tricks he'd learned in Wutai to try and trick Cloud into making a mistake. He was faster and stronger, the mako in his blood giving him an edge, but Cloud had gotten wily. He was also less easily distracted than Zack had been when Angeal first took on his training, which meant he'd learned more theory in the same amount of time.

Cloud feinted and faked and generally tried to skip out on facing Zack directly because that would be suicide. Smart move. Still doomed to failure, though. Cloud's tactics were like wolves attacking prey bigger than them – dash in, slash, then get away again before it had time to react. It was classic dripping-water-on-stone strategy, designed to wear an opponent down or frustrate them into making a fatal error. In a group like a wolf pack this was fine, but one on one? Not so much.

_Time to bring this one home_.

Zack hadn't been holding back, per se, but he hadn't exactly been cutting loose. He didn't cut loose now, either, since a First Class cutting loose could level a building and reduce a grunt like Cloud to a greasy stain on the ground. Zack liked Cloud. He didn't want to turn him into a greasy stain. For one thing it'd be difficult to replace someone so honest and eager to please, plus he'd only just got the guy trained in the fine art of How Zack Likes His Coffee.

Zack pushed off, put on a burst of speed and came in under Cloud's defences. Spooked by Zack's sudden appearance, Cloud made the mistake of moving his blade from a defensive to an offensive position, leaving his chest exposed on the upswing.

Zack could've easily angled his own sword around in a perfect stab through the heart. Instead, he hooked one heel behind Cloud's legs and tripped him up in a basic manoeuvre. Cloud tried to save himself with a handspring, but with Zack so close it was no use. He landed flat on his back, sword-arm outstretched, and flinched when Zack's sword thrust into the floor next to his head.

"Thus endeth the lesson," Zack smiled.

Cloud blinked up at him. A frustrated noise lurked in his throat and his forehead furrowed. "I did it again."

"Yeah, but you lasted longer this time."

"I can't believe I made the same mistake _again_." Cloud was breathing hard, but Zack still heard the anger in his voice. "I always lose it when my defences are breached. I should _know_ by now how to react when that happens."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, buddy-"

"I'll bet you never made simple mistakes like that."

"Are you kidding? Angeal used to say my head was made of layers of titanium netting – everything took twice as long to find a way in and even longer to stay there."

Cloud grunted.

Zack rolled his eyes. Honestly, Cloud could be so obsessive sometimes. "Look, let's put this in perspective: me, a First Class SOLDIER who's had to hack up more than a few monsters to keep them from shredding his devilishly handsome face; you, a normal guy with basic training and no mako in you. Kind of like swatting a fly with a tank. Under those circumstances, you did pretty good."

"Thanks for reminding me." Cloud rolled sideways. The fact he wasn't yet a SOLDIER of any class was a sore point. "Were you even trying?"

"A little." Zack grinned. "You nearly made me break a sweat."

Anybody else would've replied with a well-deserved, "Asshole," but Cloud just looked at him with an expression that implied it. He was always so polite, a proper little country boy with manners inscribed right down to his bone marrow.

Then Zack reflected that he was also a country boy and had learned the hard way to be more respectful to his superiors than, say, shortening their names to just initials and giving a thumb's up instead of a salute. Hm, maybe it was a northerner thing.

"Seriously though," he said, attempting to bolster his friend's confidence – or at least bandage his pride, "you're improving."

"Humph."

"You _are_. You nearly hit me a couple of times today, and you're definitely a lot faster than you used to be. Lighter on your feet, too. Some of these outcroppings are narrow." He gestured at the solid-holograms surrounding them. "I'll bet if it was you against another SOLDIER he'd get a shock at how good you are for a grunt."

"Yeah, right before he separated me from my lungs." Cloud was pragmatic and, Zack felt, unreasonably downbeat. Yeah, probably another SOLDIER _would_ kill him, and probably it _would_ be messy, and more than a bit painful, but did he have to be so gloomy about it?

"Hey, if you'd rather not do this anymore…" Zack left the sentence hanging.

Cloud quickly shook his head. "No, I … sorry, that was ungrateful. I do appreciate you giving me extra training like this."

"Damn skippy." Technically, ordinary grunts weren't allowed into the holo-chambers. Shinra was careful with its finances and didn't like the idea of expensive equipment being ruined by men whose future might be in canon fodder. Still, Zack was a First Class and that came with certain privileges; like being able to use the chambers whenever he wanted, provided they hadn't been booked in advance, borrow extra swords from the equipment stockpile and not be questioned afterwards as long as he didn't damage anything. "You're too hard on yourself. You need to take time off sometimes from being such a perfectionist."

"Easy for you to say. You're a natural at this."

"Pfft." Zack made a noise like the whoopee cushion he used to sneak onto Angeal's chair before important meetings. "Much as I like the mystique that gives me, I have to reply with a big fat 'yeah right!' I've had more injuries from training than you've had hot dinners. Plus I was in a war. You learn fast in those sorts of circumstances. These skills are hard won." He struck a pose. "I've suffered for my art, and I didn't even have a good friend like me to smooth out my rough edges before I got myself a mentor. Don't worry, buddy. We'll make a SOLDIER out of you yet."

Cloud eyed him with suspicion, before allowing his face to relax. He looked much less like a human stress ball that way. Desire to get into the SOLDIER programme had etched lines into his face that weren't nearly as pronounced when Zack first met him, several years ago on their mission to the frozen north.

You could bake potatoes in the sheer intensity of Cloud's wish to succeed. His continuing lack of success and subsequent dejection had inspired Zack to offer the odd sparring session to help hone his skills. Cloud had passion and drive, and saw entry into the SOLDIER programme as a way of gaining respect, but he wasn't a naturally gifted warrior. He was too focussed on what came next to fully process the here and now. He thought about the future a lot and the past not enough, since one seemed more attractive to him than the other, and that showed up in his fighting style. He always tried to think a few steps ahead and got tangled up in his own feet because of it.

Like today's match; he'd been so intent on anticipating Zack's attack that he neglected to shore up his defences before moving into what he thought was the best response. Zack had killed people before, but he wasn't needlessly bloodthirsty. Still, he didn't want his friend killed because he forgot to check an opponent was dead before turning his back on him.

To that end he'd kind of taken on Cloud's training. Just a little. He was nowhere near Angeal's level, and the higher-ups didn't consider him capable of having an actual apprentice of his own yet, which might indicate certain things Zack didn't like to think about, but …

Thinking about his mentor still hurt, but it was a dull ache, not the searing agony it had been at the beginning. Time didn't heal wounds, Zack had found, but it did put a buffer in place so you could get on with what needed to be done without feeling like you'd swallowed a razor blade.

"Are you seeing your lady friend tonight?" Cloud asked.

"'Lady friend'?" Zack echoed. "How old-fashioned are _you?_ She has a name, y'know."

Cloud shrugged. He was kind of uncomfortable about women, as though courtship was still a major issue with strict rules and shotguns at the end if you didn't follow them.

He didn't talk much about his past unless badgered, which Zack was good at, so he'd gleaned that Cloud wasn't exactly Mr. Popularity back home and that his pre-enrolment dating record was slim-to-none. Though much less uptight than he used to be, Cloud still seemed to think of girls as mysterious, unfathomable creatures and would probably have an aneurysm if one he didn't already know came up and talked to him. One of these days Zack would have to introduce the guy to Aerith, maybe ask if she had a friend who could teach Cloud the error of his ways.

"So are you going to see her?"

"Yup." Zack easily swung his sword onto his back and reached to help his friend up.

Cloud sniffed. "You're going to shower first, right?"

"I should kick your ass for that."

"You already did."

"Touché. Wait, was that an actual joke?"

"Might've been."

Zack grinned. There was hope for Cloud yet. "C'mon. Let's get that sword back to the stores before you're arrested for theft of Shinra property and assaulting an officer."


	2. Second Side

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**2. Second Side**

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Aerith was in her church. It was where they always met, a neutral ground since her mother had some grudge against Shinra and nearly had apoplexy the first time she met Zack and saw his uniform.

He wore it because there were politics under the Plate the same as there were in any city. Though Shinra liked to ignore it, the slums were still a society and had evolved their own rituals and customs. If you didn't live there, you were an outsider; if you were an outsider you were fair game for anyone desperate or bitter enough to leave you dead and empty-pocketed in an alley. At least the SOLDIER uniform gave advanced warning not to try it. Zack figured it was as much for potential muggers' safety as his own.

Aerith didn't have such problems. True, life in the slums was still dangerous for her, but she'd grown up there. She knew her way around the unwritten rules and her new role as flower girl gave her a certain amount of additional protection. If an outsider threatened her then the loose community of Section Five would close around her, shielding their little flower girl and the light she brought into their lives. Midgar was harsh, but even those below the Plate appreciated flowers – especially if it meant the prospect of a good fight. It was one of the reasons Zack could be seen out with her without worrying _too_ much about her being punished for associating with a 'Shinra pet'.

"Hey," he said, pushing open the heavy door. "Aerith?"

Her head popped up from behind a pew. Obviously she hadn't been able to resist tending her precious plants while she waited. "Zack!" She jumped to her feet and ran at him.

Laughing, he scooped her up and swung her tiny body around in a circle. She weighed practically nothing anyway, but his enhanced strength made her feel even more like a rag-doll in his arms. Her laughter mingled with his as she gripped tight and squealed for him to stop. After walking through the filthy streets, Aerith's smile was like sunshine cutting through smog – likewise her hug when he finally did set her down.

"What a welcome!"

"That's nothing," she beamed, standing on tiptoe to press her lips to his. It was a chaste kiss and short. She pulled back first, embarrassed, but Zack just grinned.

"Okay, I take it back. That's a proper welcome."

"Silly." She stepped away from him and went to collect her basket. "So are you ready to go?" Yet another way for him to be more accepted as her boyfriend – by making sure people associated his face with the joy and hope of her flowers, not the fear and revulsion usually connected to Shinra. That'd been Aerith's idea and he was happy to go along with it.

"Sure." He offered her his arm, but she playfully smacked him away.

"I can walk by myself. C'mon, I thought we could start at the park today."

Not that the mishmash of pipes and concrete was anything like a park in the traditional sense, but the wide space was one of the only places kids could play and not worry about buildings collapsing on them. Maybe someday someone would erect real playthings there. Zack imagined pushing Aerith on a swing. The image wasn't unappealing.

"Sure, whatever."

They talked as they walked. Aerith was a good conversationalist, even if she sometimes leaned towards flights of fancy. Still, it was good to have dreams. Zack knew that better than most. She told him about what she'd been up to since he saw her last, apologising that her life must be so boring compared to his. Zack disagreed. Sometimes he longed for a life where 5a.m. training regimes were somebody else's problem.

They kept talking when they reached the park, and as people came up and bought Aerith's flowers. She had some sort of yellow things today; Zack was awful at telling one plant from another. Aerith was dedicated to learning as much about each one as she could. Flowers were so rare that she never stopped thinking how lucky she was to have them, but Zack had been to Wutai where things grew like they couldn't stop.

Maybe if things ever quietened down properly he'd take Aerith there. He had leave, and money saved, and gods knew she deserved time away from the slums. He'd have to make sure she'd be safe, though. Wutai wasn't a hot war zone anymore but there were still pockets of guerrilla resistance. Maybe he'd take her someplace less dangerous, he reflected. She'd probably like the countryside, and it'd sure be a change from Midgar, where inside was a sunless dump and outside was a desert wasteland. Not exactly the best place to learn about plant-life, though Zack did try. He liked seeing the little smile Aerith got when he was Making an Effort, even if it was usually followed by Zack Messed Up Again. When he was dispatched on his last residential service he brought back an interesting vine, only for her to tell him it was Poison Ivy. The resilience he got from SOLDIER treatments prevented it from affecting him (in her words, he'd have to be dumped in a vat of the stuff to develop a single spot), but it gave her a rash that made her ban him from seeing her for a week, even though he said sorry.

"Are you going away again soon?" Aerith asked, as if reading his mind.

"I'm about due to be dispatched somewhere," he admitted. "No clue where, though. Wutai's quiet enough that regular troops can take care of it and the higher-ups are cagey about everywhere else." He probably shouldn't be talking to her about this stuff, but who was she going to spill it to?

Aerith paused. Zack took a few steps before stopping too.

"I worry about you when you go away," she said softly.

"Hey, no frowny face. There's no reason for frowny face." Zack linked his arms behind his head, self-conscious. "It's part of the job."

"I know that. But…" She raised her eyes to his. "You're not exactly the most careful person in the world. You take silly risks, so I worry."

"I'm not an idiot."

She raised an eyebrow, expression sliding from anxious to unconvinced.

"Hey! I'm not!"

"Maybe not," she conceded, "but sometimes you do seem to have the self-preservation instinct of a lemming."

Zack's mouth fell open. That was … pretty good, for Aerith. "You wound me."

Aerith giggled. Then her face became serious again. "Zack, promise me. Promise me you'll take care." The sudden earnestness in her voice put him on his guard.

"What brought this on?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie. I've been away on missions before and you've never gone this grim – especially since I haven't even been given the order to move out yet. C'mon, what's up?"

She looked away. "It's stupid-"

"Try me."

"I had … a dream."

"A _dream?_"

"See, I told you it's stupid-"

"No, wait. Go on." Zack was interested despite himself.

Aerith fixed him with a reproachful look. "Just trust me, okay? I had a dream, it wasn't nice, and now I want you to promise me you won't do something really stupid that'll get you hurt – or worse."

Zack looked indignant. "I know I'm not perfect, but I'm not suicidal, either."

"You push yourself," Aerith said firmly, and with far more conviction than should've been possible, considering she'd never seen him in the field. Zack liked being her strong boyfriend, the one who had made her stop fearing SOLDIERs so much, but he had no desire for her to see him cutting the guts out of monsters and bringing down enemy warriors. The fear in her eyes the first time they met and she talked about SOLDIERs made him sure of that. "You're still trying to prove yourself to someone. You want to be a hero, but heroes get hurt, Zack. I don't want you to get hurt…"

Angeal's face briefly surfaced in Zack's mind, followed closely by Sephiroth. Okay, so maybe there was some credence to what she was saying, but still … he was a First Class SOLDIER. He could handle himself.

Evidently his face communicated this, because Aerith stepped towards him, laying a hand flat against his chest. Usually it was him initiating contact when they weren't being playful. Zack looked down at her hand and back at her face, noting the intense tilt of her eyebrows and the way her lips bunched a little in the middle as she willed him to say what she wanted.

He sighed. Damn him for not being able to resist her. "Okay, okay, I promise not to take unnecessary risks that'll get me maimed, mangled or killed."

Aerith pouted. "You don't sound very sincere."

"What do you want from me? It may all be moot anyhow. I may be relegated to Midgar for another six months training recruits, and you," he jabbed a finger that just brushed the tip of her nose, "may just be stuck with me."

She smirked. "Such a chore."

"You better believe it. I'm the kind of Shinra pet that needs constant attention. And lots of cuddles. Among other things." He leaned close but she pushed him away, conscious of where they were and the interested faces directed their way.

"Zack!" she hissed.

Zack sighed. He was allowed to sell her flowers and push her cart but not kiss her in public. How unfair was that? What was it that had made him fall for a girl with so many strings attached? He'd never have had this problem if he'd married a girl from Gongaga like everyone always assumed he would.

Yeah right. Gongaga girls could heft a baby under each arm and still chase you down the street to smack you upside the head.

"To be continued?"

Aerith jabbed her own finger against the tip of his nose. "Of course."

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End file.
